Meal Prep Doesn’t Have to Be Boring or Overcomplicated — Here Are the Tools I Recommend as a Culinary Dietitian

If your cutting boards are slipping and sliding around your countertop as you try to cut things on them, you’re just asking for an ugly injury. While you can prevent this with a simple wet paper towel under your board, we do love this cutting board set for its built-in grips that prevent slipping altogether.

The boards are also attractive, dishwasher-safe, and, according to food writer and product tester Marisa Olsen, “versatile and well built.” These make chopping your produce or cutting meats easy, with smaller boards for small tasks and larger boards with an indented border to catch drips. This thoughtfully designed set is perfect for meal prep, and for this many boards, we also think it’s fairly priced.

Nothing can make or break a meal prep session like your knife; it’s arguably the most important tool in your kitchen, and we adore this five-piece set from Misen.

We love that the set includes knives for nearly every task, from a do-it-all chef’s knife to a paring knife for delicate work. It also includes a bunka knife and utility knife for longer prep sessions or when a larger chef’s knife feels cumbersome.

Mandolines have a tough reputation because of their razor-sharp blades, but with proper precautions, they can be incredibly useful for prep work (and you’ll keep your fingertips intact). This mandoline from OXO is one of our favorites because the V-shaped blade helps prevent sticking, it’s easy to adjust the thickness of what you’re slicing, and it can make straight, wavy, small, and large julienne cuts with its different blades.

Mandolines are fantastic for making precise, fine cuts that would be next to impossible with a knife, and they do it incredibly fast. Possibly the most important features, though, are the rubber feet for stability and the food holder with a hand guard for safety. If you’d like an added layer of protection, you can also invest in a safety glove for cutting — just remember to be as careful when cleaning as you are when slicing.

Cleaning vegetables, especially leafy greens, can be a tedious and time-consuming task, and we’ll always take any help we can get to simplify it. The OXO salad spinner not only gives you a bowl for soaking your produce, but it also does an excellent job of wringing out the water so your veggies aren’t banged up.

It’s useful for cleaning leafy greens and delicate berries as well as wringing out the liquid of grated vegetables like cucumbers or potatoes, cleaning and soaking beans, and even quick-thawing items like vegetables or frozen shrimp. This comes in two sizes, so if you’re consistently cooking smaller or larger quantities, you can plan accordingly.

The Instant Pot is a do-it-all countertop appliance that lets you sauté, sear, slow cook, pressure cook, and cook your grains, too. This multipurpose appliance is great for not only cooking a wide variety of foods quickly but also freeing up your stovetop and oven for other uses in the meantime.

Health writer and editor Nicole Bonaccorso gave a glowing review of this appliance, saying, “I love this product. There’s so much you can do with it. It’s a pressure cooker. It’s a slow cooker. It’s a rice cooker. You can sauté foods in it. You can cook a whole chicken. This one appliance can replace several in your home.” Whether you plan to use it day to day to whip up meals from your prepped ingredients or as a part of your meal prep routine, we think it’s a game changer to have on hand.

Blenders are really useful for so much more than smoothie-making, and when it comes to meal prep, we love them for making everything from healthy dips to creamy soups and homemade sauces. They can also be self-cleaning and, yes, of course, should make a killer smoothie (or prep smoothie cubes if you like).

The Vitamix Ascent X2 is simply one of the most powerful and effective blenders we’ve come across. According to veteran food writer and editor Katie Tuttle, “the X2 whipped through pretty much anything I threw at it. I love that for, say, the coconut red curry squash soup, you don’t have to peel the squash or ginger, and despite using dried lemongrass, everything blended up silky smooth. Smoothies? This blender scoffs at frozen fruit. Ice? No problem.”

The X2 is a real powerhouse, and when it comes to batch prepping food, the blender size is also a generous 48 ounces (oz).

Oven-based cooking makes a lot of sense for meal prep because you can cook multiple things at once (provided they use roughly the same temperature) and often cook a larger batch. For this, we like a nonstick bakeware set like this one from Caraway.

Tuttle says, “Like most Caraway pieces, it’s nonstick ceramic made without PTFEs, and it’s quite pretty, coming in an array of cheery colors. This set also comes with its own storage with magnetic closures, so you can stow these away without worrying about scratching the nonstick coating.”

The set includes 11 pieces, with two different-sized sheet pans, a cooling rack, a muffin pan, a loaf pan, various circular and square pans, and storage organizers to hold it all. You’ll be able to bake anything you like, and plenty of it, with this set.

Batch cooking for the freezer means extending the shelf life of your food (and your effort) beyond just the week ahead. For portioning and making the most use of these items, there’s nothing better than the Souper Cubes freezer molds.

These come in a range of sizes (and fun colors), and this set covers many of your typical portions with 2-cup, 1-cup, ½-cup, and 2-tablespoon trays. Made from food-grade silicone, they can be frozen, microwaved, baked, and, of course, put in the dishwasher.

Freeze everything from a serving of chicken noodle soup to a personal-sized lasagna, mini loaves of banana bread, or just enough fresh lemon juice for right when you need it. They’re incredibly versatile, and the brand even sells coordinated sets of small baking pans for reheating your prep if you really want to get into the whole Souper Cubes system.

Good food safety practices usually revolve around accurately measuring the internal temperature of whatever you’re cooking, and for that, the Thermapen One is our favorite thermometer. It’s fast and accurate, with a 360-degree rotating temperature probe. You can also trust it to work when you need it, since a single battery will give you 2,000 hours of use. This means you can verify doneness before pulling anything from the oven, whether you’re cooking meat, casseroles, or even baked goods.

While plastic deli containers are a common storage tool in kitchens (and they can be really functional), these silicone versions from Anyday really caught our eye. Not only are they going to be less prone to cracking with repeated use than their plastic counterparts, but they also have convenient measurements embossed onto the sides and a secure but ventable lid.

These are microwave- and oven-safe up to 450 degrees F, can go in the fridge or freezer, and stack for easy nesting. We can see using these to store a quart of prepped soup; for making, storing, and transporting sauces and dressings; and storing solids, like cut fruit for breakfasts or packed lunches. The options seem endless because they really are.

If you’re storing this week’s meal prep in the fridge but need a wider variety of container sizes and shapes, this set from JoyJolt is a great option. The containers are made from lead-free borosilicate glass, which handles temperature changes well but can chip if you’re rough with it. The lids are plastic, but the glass containers are safe to use in the microwave and oven for reheating (though the manufacturer does not list an upper temperature limit).

They’re a favorite of editor Ally Hirschlag, who says, “When I decided to throw away all my plastic containers in an attempt to reduce microplastics exposure, the JoyJolt containers came to my rescue. I was apprehensive about switching to mostly glass because I’m accident-prone, but these guys are virtually indestructible.”

This set includes 12 containers, and while we think you could certainly do with more for a full set to complement a household that meal preps, it’s a great starter set for holding both individual meals and prepped ingredients.

Silicone alternatives to your favorite plastic food bags have been making their way to the scene, and while there are many to choose from, Stasher’s options are some of our favorites. The size options are good for larger and smaller portions, and they have some flat-bottomed shapes for easy hands-free filling. The food-grade silicone is safe for everything from freezing to microwave reheating to dishwasher cleaning. They can be tricky to dry (they’ll need to dry completely before you store them), but they’re worth it.

Ideal for storing everything from freezer-safe meal-prep breakfast burritos to your favorite no-bake oat bars, they have a multitude of uses and are practically indestructible.

Home vacuum sealers do quite well at this task, and we like this option from Inkbird because of its thoughtful design and preset modes. Sealing bags of liquid is notoriously difficult, but the Inkbird has not only a “liquid” mode but also a larger, removable drip tray for catching spills. This machine also has a compartment to conveniently store your storage bag roll (we highly recommend using a type of plastic that’s safe for thawing and reheating your food right inside).

Combine this with the Souper Cubes, and you’ve got the perfect setup for a highly enviable freezer stash of prepped food.

While technically labeled as an air fryer, the Wonder Oven can do so much more, and we love the larger size for both an additional resource for cooking while prepping, but also for reheating.

“I use this air fryer for a lot of things, especially in the warmer months when I don’t want to heat up my house,” Tuttle says. “I use it to reheat leftover fries (it’s the only thing that gets them crispy again), to broil sandwiches, to roast vegetables (especially Brussels sprouts and broccoli), and to cook items like tater tots or sweet potato fries.” She has the larger size and notes that it can comfortably cook a whole chicken or a sheet of cookies.

Just note that everything you put in needs to cook at the same temperature, as it lacks separate compartments for different cooking zones.

Meal prep is a staple for busy professionals, so you may not be reheating your prep at home with one of our recommended appliances but rather at work. If you’d like to avoid the dreaded office microwave, consider bringing your own electric lunch box, like this option from Crock-Pot. The 20-oz size is a great capacity for a single meal, and it uses Crock-Pot’s slow-cooker tech to have everything warm in time for lunch.

It does need to be plugged in to heat up, so keep that in mind, but it’s the ideal size for an office, classroom, or even in-car lunch. It works best for soups and chilis, pasta, hot entrées, and even oatmeal if you want to use it for breakfast. We also love that the inner container is dishwasher-safe.

If you do indeed want to portion your meal prep into individual containers, we really like this option from Ello. The containers are made of tempered glass and outfitted with silicone sleeves to prevent chipping and plastic lids, which are airtight for an on-the-go-approved seal. The 3.4-cup size is perfect for a full meal, and the glass portions are safe for the microwave, oven (up to 450 degrees F), and freezer, though we caution against freezing in glass, as it can shatter when things expand.

Bonaccorso says, “I’ve used one of these for years, and it hasn’t broken yet,“ adding, “It’s great for leftovers, but a bit heavy for a school lunch. I love the color choices. One tip: Be sure to take off the silicone exterior from time to time during washing, just to ward off any buildup or mildew.”

If you’re meal prepping for a crowd and need to both cook and reheat in larger quantities, there’s no superior air fryer than the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone. This machine holds 8 quarts and gives that signature crisp texture that comes from an air fryer. You can cook with both sides independently or on the same settings, too.

Editor Ashley Ziegler tested this and says, “We cook all kinds of food in it — chicken, fries, veggies, breakfast sausage, crescent rolls, soft pretzels — basically if it can be air-fried, we’ve probably done it.” She adds that in addition to being able to cook a lot at one time, there’s also a “Match Cook” option so both baskets are done at the same time even if they’re set to different temps or times.